The invention relates to a personal care apparatus with a housing and with apparatus parts for treating body parts, which apparatus parts are provided in a head region of the personal care apparatus.
A personal care apparatus as set forth above is disclosed, for example, in patent document EP 0 585 621 A1. This known personal care apparatus is what is termed a depilation apparatus which is fitted with what is termed a depilation cylinder that is fitted with adjustably supported depilation disks as apparatus parts for treating body parts, specifically for removing hair from body parts, which depilation disks can be adjusted relative to one another and, in the process, can additionally be driven into rotation and can be brought into a clamped position in a periodically recurring sequence in which they ensure that hairs are plucked out. The known depilation means for reducing the operating noise of the depilation apparatus apparatus has in the region of the depilation disks. The operating noise can certainly be somewhat reduced by these means, but the noise occurring when the depilation disks collide, which is generated when the depilation disks are brought into their clamped position, can in practice be influenced inadequately or not at all by these means, and so a noise level perceived as unpleasant by a person will arise during operation of the known depilation apparatus.
The invention has for its object in the case of a personal care apparatus the type described in the opening paragraph, to avoid the state of affairs indicated above and to improve an improved personal care apparatus.
In order to achieve the object set forth above, a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention comprises inventive features such that a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention can be defined as follows.
A personal care apparatus with a housing and with apparatus parts for treating body parts, which apparatus parts are provided in a head region of the personal care apparatus, wherein a noise protection cap is connected to the personal care apparatus in its head region, which cap is designed with a closed circumference and terminates in a cap edge which can be placed on the skin of a person during operation of the personal care apparatus.
It is achieved in a structurally simple way as a result of the presence of the features in accordance with the invention that during operation of a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention the noise caused by the apparatus parts for treating body parts cannot be issued at all to the surroundings of the personal care apparatus, or can be issued only in a greatly attenuated way, as a result of which during operation of a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention the person using the personal care apparatus is unable to perceive a noise level which disturbs him/her, because the noise protection cap suppresses the emergence of the sound generated by the apparatus parts for treating body parts.
In a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention, it has proved to be very advantageous when the noise protection cap consists at least for the major part of a transparent material. This ensures that during operation of a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention there is substantially no impairment of the view of the apparatus parts for treating body parts through the noise protection cap.
In a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention, it has furthermore proved to be advantageous when the noise protection cap is detachably connected to the personal care apparatus and can be removed from the personal care apparatus. This is advantageous for cleaning the head region of the personal care apparatus in a simple way unhindered by the noise protection cap. Moreover, the advantage is thereby provided that a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention can also be put into operation without a noise protection cap whenever this is desired.
In a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention, it has proved to be very advantageous when the noise protection cap is resiliently mounted on the personal care apparatus, spring means being provided for this purpose as defined in claim 4. It is ensured hereby that the noise protection cap always bears effectively with its cap edge on the body parts to be treated.
With regard to holding the cap edge of the noise protection cap effectively against the body parts to be treated, it has also proved to be very advantageous when the noise protection cap is pivotably connected to the personal care apparatus. It is particularly advantageous in this context when the noise protection cap is connected to the personal care apparatus in a wobbling fashion, that is to say can be pivoted not just about one pivot axis, but about at least two pivot axes.
In a personal care apparatus in accordance with the invention wherein during operation of the personal care apparatus the noise protection cap can be moved in a specific operating direction over the body parts to be treated, i.e. over the skin of a person, it has proved to be particularly advantageous when the noise protection cap is connected to the personal care apparatus such that it can pivot about a pivot axis which is substantially at right angles to the operating direction. This ensures that the noise protection cap bears with its cap edge in a particularly effective way on the body parts to be treated. However, it has also proved to be very advantageous when the noise protection cap is connected to the personal care apparatus such that it can pivot about a pivot axis which is essentially parallel to the operating direction, also for achieving that the noise protection cap will bear with its cap edge effectively on body parts.
A personal care apparatus according to the invention may be formed by a shaver or by a massage device. It has proved to be particularly advantageous when the personal care apparatus is formed by a depilation apparatus which has adjustable apparatus parts for depilation as is disclosed per se in the cited patent document EP 0 585 621 A1. It has proved to be particularly advantageous in such a depilation apparatus to provide a noise protection cap which always remains with its cap edge held in operational contact with the body parts to be treated, i.e. with the body parts to be depilated, in particular because the adjustable apparatus parts for depilation in a depilation apparatus themselves generate a noise perceived as unpleasant, which noise causes a negative psychological effect for most people using such a depilation apparatus a negative psychological effect, specifically the effect that this noise engenders an increased sensation of pain.
In a personal care apparatus formed by a depilation apparatus, it has proved to be very advantageous when the noise protection cap is additionally fitted with means for raising hairs and/or with means for aligning hairs. This ensures that the noise protection cap fulfills at least one additional function.
The above and further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the subsequent description of embodiments and will be explained below with reference to these embodiments.